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Tuesday, August 1, 2017

Brewery Spotlight: Stockyards Brewing

Posted by
Barbara Settles

Located in the old Golden Ox lounge, the aesthetics of Stockyards Brewing will confuse anyone not familiar with the old steak place. Those of us who are from KC will marvel at how Stockyards Brewing was able to re-purpose a seemingly ancient motif. It may be strange in an industry that currently takes "Industrial Hip Interiors" as gospel, but it's nice to see a brewery that's warmer and full of character.

Stockyards Brewing officially began in 2012 by Greg Bland, who moved to KC in 2010. He brewed beer out of a small place he had in the West Bottoms while taking business management classes at Siebel Institute in Chicago. He met Micah Weichert, then head brewer for Gordon Biersch, and not too long after, the idea for Stockyards was born.

Today, Greg is affectionately known as the Trail Boss. He handed me his business card one warm afternoon day as we sat around the bar drinking beers. Sure enough, it had the name “Trail Boss” written just underneath his name. Each of the heads of this brewery take their names from the 1800's Cattle Trail. So, the Trail Boss is the head while Micah is the “Point Man,” or Second in Command. Melissa, their Bar Manager, is called the “Night Hawk” since this was the person back in the day who monitored the livestock while the other wranglers were sleeping. Their bartenders are called “Keg Wranglers.”

“We wanted something different,” he told me as we sipped our beer. “We wanted to encompass the spirit of this place.”

Spirit, indeed. The guys talked to Bill Haw, Jr. and Sr. and officially opened Stockyards Brewing on April 15, 2016. It was very important to them to keep the original motif intact. Greg stated emphatically that he didn’t want to tear up the historical building, but to keep the history alive, and it appears to be to their credit.

Their beers range from a Cerveza to their West Bottoms IPA (a fan favorite) to their Brunch Stout. Micah said that he searched high and low for some new and different ingredients to make more interesting beers. Last November, Stockyards released a Smoked Imperial Pilsner, which was a huge hit. Their Anniversary Beer is one of their newest releases (as of this writing) and is also a favorite.

Coming soon, they have a collaboration with Kelly’s of Westport for Kelly’s 70th anniversary. The Irish Red will be named after County Clare, the ancestral home of Kelly’s founders, and will be released at Kelly’s afterparty of KC Irish Fest. Stockyards and Kelly’s have teamed up with the HALO Foundation, and proceeds from this beer will go to fight childhood homelessness. To learn more about this foundation, check it out here: https://haloworldwide.org/

On the horizon is Stocktoberfest, their “festival beer” this fall. That’ll be released the first Friday of September.

So come on down and enjoy some Stockyards beer. They also feature a Cider courtesy of nearby Cinder Block Brewery, for those with sweeter tastes. They even have a fabulous cocktail list. If you have a non-beer drinker in the group, have them order a Nitro Coffee. Very soon, they’ll be open for “all day happy hour” from 4-10 on Tuesdays which will include $4 drafts.

Go to their website and check out the calendar. Stockyards has a ton of live music including Blue Grass Thursdays, not to mention DJs and local acts. Every First Friday, they either have a new release or they tap a new keg. Their space is available for rent for groups 80-100, so keep that in mind for your next family reunion. Open until 10:00, this is one of the only places to grab a great drink in the evening in the West Bottoms, so come do yourself a favor and check out the atmosphere and flavor of this new local favorite.